AltGr, Mode_Switch, Alt (Re: 1.3a1 -)
AltGr, Mode_Switch, Alt (Re: 1.3a1 -)
- Subject: AltGr, Mode_Switch, Alt (Re: 1.3a1 -)
- From: Harald Hanche-Olsen <email@hidden>
- Date: Tue, 20 Nov 2007 17:57:00 +0100 (CET)
+ "Andrew J. Hesford" <email@hidden>:
> Is Mode Switch the same as AltGr?
I cannot say this with any claim to authority, but it is my distinct
impression that AltGr is purely a thing of the Windows world, while
Mode_Switch serves pretty much the same purpose in the X11 world
(though ISO_Level3_Shift seems to be taking over that rôle). And the
(left) Alt key serves the same purpose in the Mac world at least as
far as text entry goes. But it also serves the dual purpose of being
a modifier to command key shortcuts and mouse operations, which makes
it more complicated.
Certainly, as the vast majority of keyboards out there seem to be PC
keyboards, the X11 folks like to map the AltGr key to Mode_Switch or
ISO_Level3_Shift, where it can be made to act in a manner very similar
to AltGr. And clearly, a similar argument can be made (indeed must
have been made) for mapping the Mac Alt key to Mode_Switch.
I'd be surprised if the vast number of non-US keyboard layouts out
there don't use the Alt key, and by extension, Mode_Switch for
X11. You just need a few dead keys for accents, and a few letters
beyond A-Z, before important keys like \|{[]} get crowded out of the
keyboard. Personally, I use the Command key as meta, and obviously I
turn off keyboard shortcuts in the X11 preferences.
- Harald
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